To come and go
by Saoirse.Ash
Summary: She was different. She was powerful. She was useful. Why ever would he not want her?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

He always remembered her.

How her eyes shone wildly when he found her alone in one of the many corridors in Hogwarts. Her equally wild bronze hair flaying around her, her petite form tense, ready to run.

Her eyes though, her bizarre eyes, her _golden_ eyes, caught and held his attention. In it he saw all the darkness of her soul, all the desperation.

" Who are you?" He asked, watching as she focused on him.

" Who are _you_?" she mirrored his question.

He shook his head coming nearer. Almost immediately he felt a strong barrier separating him from her. His eyes widened. She was using wandless magic.

" Tell me," he muttered darkly.

The girl would watch him carefully, before running off away from him. Before she could turn around the corner he ejected a shield of his own.

She was knocked off her feet and he made her remain so.

Even then he had felt her power.

" Who are you?" He asked once more menacingly.

She stared at him, with such intensity –

" I don't remember," She whispered hoarsely.

" Do you know where you are?" he continued.

She turned her gaze away from him, to sweep her surroundings with her calculating gaze.

" It's a good place," she said finally.

" That doesn't really answer my question, does it?" he questioned with a quirk of a smirk.

" I suppose it doesn't" She replied simply.

His smirk grew.

" Clever chit" He murmured softly, before walking up to her. He could feel the air electrified with her power. It took his breath away.

Such _power_.

" You are currently in Hogwarts, school of Witchcraft and Wizardry," He told her.

Her forehead wrinkled in a frown.

" Ah" She muttered in the end.

He took a moment to examine the girl, noticing her dirty, soaked wet, brown robes, her black boots dirty with dirt, or the simple golden pendant laying safely on her chest.

" I am Tom Riddle," he said.

Much to his surprise she replied:

" I know"

* * *

He continued to observe the girl for many months. By some strange circumstances, she was found in Slytherin, but with time he found that she did indeed belong there. Her eyes would shine with mischief and cunning, her tongue expertly lied, and her mind sharp and filled with knowledge.

Her name was Hermione Granger.

She fascinated him. She swallowed him wholly, the way she would manipulate others, the way she would make them _believe_ she was innocent and gentle, only to stab them in the back. He liked that. He liked that a lot.

The end of his sixth year was fast approaching and he had yet to _understand_ her. He realized long ago that the state he found her in during their first meeting was perhaps the only time she revealed her true nature. She would hide beneath that mask of hers, so much alike to his own.

She would sit behind him in the classes, where he found her brilliance. She knew it all, and was brave enough to show it. She seemed perfect, gentle and friendly, helpful, brilliant, and exceedingly _beautiful_. Only her eternal coldness, and the deadness inside of her would be a proof of the existence of her flaws.

She would often be alone in the library, reading in the corner books of different kinds. From time to time he would manage to corner her, yet in all such instances, she would manipulate _him_ so that she had a quick escape route.

Cunning vixen.

She knows that his powers are stronger than hers. That is, not saying that she is _weak_. Quite the contrary.

They would talk in class, but it was always about studies. He would observe her to no end, irked by how _she _wouldn't observe him.

It was only after the first month that he understood why.

She knew him already.

How, he didn't know, since in the beginning, she didn't seem to remember anything at all. Perhaps it was a short-term memory loss. It didn't matter.

He would see her do weird things, playing with her magic without a wand while no one was watching. Talking to the paintings about history of the castle, meeting with certain Gryffindors, the Weasley and Potter brats for example.

For the first weeks she was quiet, making friends, becoming one of the teachers' favorite. Slughorn seemed to have extensive plans towards her already, prophesying her to be the first female minister of magic, much to everyone's surprise. Including Hermione herself.

Then, when she understood her surroundings, she would grow distant from other people, only answering on the lessons, and quickly disappearing to the library.

She began eating outside the Great Hall, and soon her mere presence created an aura of mystery.

He knew what she tried to do. What she _succeeded_ in doing. By her behavior, she evoked fear and respect to her person. She was this beautiful, powerful flower that was so close yet so far from the 'commoners'. He was angry at the thought that she would believe him to be a commoner.

But one day he cornered her once more.

It was yesterday. 6th of February. She was coming back from the library when he pushed her into the empty classroom.

She was tired and quiet when he pushed her against the wall, his tight grip on her hands stopping her from escaping.

But she didn't run.

She stared at him. As if she understood him.

" I knew we would talk soon," She said calmly.

" You seem to know many things, don't you?" he retorted.

She cracked an empty smile.

" So do you" She replied.

He continued to hold her, liking the closeness between them.

" How is it that you managed to evade me for so long?" He asked rhetorically.

She smiled differently, knowingly.

" I am just damn clever Mr. Riddle," She said.

" And so modest, Miss _Granger"_ he said.

Her smile was still there.

" There is nothing left," She said.

He knew she wasn't talking about her modesty.

" And I wonder why" He whispered.

She shrugged. Her smile melted.

"You know why" she replied.

He stared at her, and she stared back. None felt fear.

" You are right" He replied, " I do know."

" And I am sure you would like to goad" she murmured.

He smiled now. His eyes remained cold.

" But" She continued, " I am afraid, that it is not _your _time to goad dearest Mr. Riddle" she whispered into his ear.

His smile dropped. His eyes hardened. He continued to listen.

" Goodbye Tom" she hummed lightly and she was gone.

He would stare for hours at the place she once stood, her warmth spreading thin into nothingness.

" It's not the end," He promised himself " I _know_ who you are."

**AN: Just had this idea bouncing around my head. Like it? Want me to continue? I would imagine it being about three to five chapters long. **

**If you like it review, if you don't like it, still review please **


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Six years passed.

She hid from him for six years, her presence always somewhere within his mind, placed further and further, but always there.

He was twenty-three years old now and he left his little job in the Burgin and Burkes store some years ago. He travelled through Albania, he met the darkest wizards, made them teach him what he wanted to know. He read the greatest and most powerful books and manuscripts. He touched the most sacred stones and artefacts.

He was growing strong. Powerful. Soon, it would be time to go back home. But this time, not as Tom Riddle.

He was Lord Voldemort.

And he still knew who she was.

He would dream of her sometimes. Or rather, _she_ would visit him in his dreams. He would see her only when she would let him.

But for all her powers, he knew the truth. She was stuck.

She needed him.

And he knew why.

They would sit at the edge of the cliff, with the sun softly highlighting her auburn hair and golden eyes.

" I do not need you," She told him then.

" Do you not?" he replied with a knowing smile.

He knew she hated his smile.

" No" She replied offhandedly.

" So why are you here?" he asked.

" For my personal reasons" she replied.

" Your own reasons" he repeated.

" Yes that's what I said" she retorted, slightly irritated at the conversation.

He knew she would be. She hated when he mirrored her statements. He saw it clearly many times.

" When will I meet you outside the dreams?" He asked casually.

She gave him a sly smirk, and he thought it seemed very similar to something.

Then he remembered, _he_ had exactly the same one.

" Why would I like to meet you outside?" She wondered, " When I am sure of my safety here?"

He would then sit closer to her, half surprised when she didn't move.

" And how are you safe here, I wonder? _I_ control this dream" he said.

She smiled.

" You cannot affect _me, _as I am not part of your dream _darling_" she replied softly, her lips just an inch or two from his ear.

She pulled back, to look at him with amusement lit in her eyes. Then she sighed, and stood up.

" And where do you think you are going?" He asked her when she turned her back towards him and walked away.

She halted.

" Home" She said quietly.

" Here is your home" He replied.

She turned to him, and he was surprised with the _anger_ painted on her face.

" _This_" She gestured around her, " Is not my home. I am waiting and waiting for you to send me back. _You_ know that the only reason why I am incapable of going back home is _because_ of you."

He stood up too, a ghastly smile lighting his face.

" Yes that's true. _You_ depend on _me_ little witch" he stopped before her, looking down at the beautiful witch.

" There are other ways to go back –"

" I _know_ who you _are_ Hermione! I knew for a long time. Do you not think that I would take measures to keep you here? Little time traveller" he finished quietly. Victoriously.

She would say nothing to this, yet he knew that her mind was working on full speed.

" I know why you don't want to meet me in reality dearest one. I read the books and laws of time travellers," he said, " So what will you do when I _force_ you to come to me, hmm? What if I claim you right then and there?"

He noticed that her skin was pale, unearthly pale. He smiled.

" It is hard for me to believe that you would like to go to the bed with a _mudblood,_" She hissed out finally, when her eyes were filled with fire once more.

He halted for a second.

" You are no _mudblood_' he snarled.

She gave him a bitter smile.

" Send me back," she ordered.

" No"

" Send me back! You _know_ how!"

He stared at her with intensity of the sun, before turning his back to her.

" You will come to me outside the dream. Only then will I _think_ of aiding you."

When he turned to look at her she was gone. He smiled.

She would come.

* * *

She did.

Six months after the dream he was sitting in one of the smaller Parisian libraries, when he felt her presence.

She sat next to him so quietly, that, only the slight change of air around him notified him of her.

He didn't look up. It was too early. However, he made sure to place a knowing smirk upon his face so that she could see.

" I am here," She finally said.

" Whatever took you so long? Did you get lost?" He asked innocently.

Her voice didn't show any annoyance as she replied:

" I had important things to settle. Excuse me for not making this _charming_ meeting my priority."

Now he did look at her. She was slightly different, more… tired, than she was in the dream. There were dark shadows under her tired eyes, and her skin seemed sallow. Her hair seemed to bed towards the ground without any resistance.

" You are unwell," He observed calmly.

She smiled.

" I am dying" she replied wistfully.

He looked away momentarily.

" Oh, are you now?" he asked while thinking about something else.

" That is why I came. I was waiting for that to happen."

" You are not dying," he said suddenly. He turned to her, and his confident eyes dazed her " Because I will not allow it. Finally here we are, just were we are supposed to be. Pardon me for being a tad bit possessive, but you are mine."

She frowned at his words, but let him continue.

" You know why you are ill. You know _why_ you feel so weak, so restless. You know _why_ you begin to forget your _friends_ from your time."

" Because of you" She whispered.

" Yes" he sighed contently, as his hand reached towards her hand, currently resting on the cool surface of the polished, wooden desk. She didn't push him away, because the moment their skins touched, she felt some of the pain disappear, at least for now.

" You are not letting me go," She concluded finally.

" Of course not" he told her as if he were talking to a child.

She sighed now, and shook her head.

" I am not staying here. Not with you, not with anyone else."

" You are right you are not staying with anyone else. I made it perfectly clear. You are _mine_. The sooner you make peace with this, the better off you will be," he said lightly.

She turned to look at him, strange light shining in her eyes.

" Then I will die" She said simply and disappeared.

This time he smiled as he reached down to take the book that he had stolen from her when she came.

" You will come back Hermione Granger. And you know it too."

* * *

" Abraxas is everything ready?" His cool voice cut through the warm air.

The Malfoy manor was currently turned into Voldemort's headquarters, where Tom Riddle stayed for the past three months. It has been four months since Hermione disappeared yet again, but he wasn't worried. He knew she was alive, albeit in terrible pain. Foolish girl thought that she could simply _die_. As if death could take away what was his.

" Yes my Lord. All three participants are now on our orders. It seems your spell works" Abraxas passed a book back to Tom. It was a simply made diary, made from brown leather.

" It is not my spell Abraxas. It is Hermione's" He replied as he took the offered book and smiled down at it.

The Malfoy's heir raised his eyebrows in surprise.

" The little angel _creating_ such dark, _terrible_ spells? How astounding" he murmured.

" Oh yes, indeed. She was quite a bit of help, wasn't she? And she will remain so" Tom replied, as the two walked towards the 'patients' room.

" Why would create such spells? Hardly seems like her style, my Lord" Malfoy asked.

"She did it for me. And all unknowingly. On the contrary to everybody's belief, miss Hermione Granger is as dark as it gets. What makes _her_ worse is the fact that _she _doesn't know it herself" The dark haired boy replied.

" My Lord… What will happen to her?"

" That is too forward of you Malfoy. My plans are my own. Now leave me."

Malfoy bowed deeply and took a step away from the powerful wizard.

" Of course my Lord. Pardon me. Here are the keys to the participants' rooms."

Tom took them and waited till the young Malfoy left. He stared down at the keys and smiled.

" Soon Hermione we will meet. And this time you will stay with me."

He opened the doors and walked through.

**AN: Tell how you like chapter two! Unless you don't like it…**


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